The Shameful Truth About the Naked Juice Class Action Lawsuit Settlement and What American Consumers Can Do About It

Max GoldbergJuly 24, 2013

The Shameful Truth About the Naked Juice Class Action Lawsuit Settlement and What American Consumers Can Do Ab

Last week, Naked Juice agreed to settle a very important class action lawsuit which accused the company of deceptive labeling. The primary basis of the lawsuit stemmed from the company’s use of the words “All Natural” on products that contained Archer Daniels Midland’s Fibersol-2 (“a soluble corn fiber that acts as a low-calorie bulking agent”), […]

The primary basis of the lawsuit stemmed from the company’s use of the words “All Natural” on products that contained Archer Daniels Midland’s Fibersol-2 (“a soluble corn fiber that acts as a low-calorie bulking agent”), fructooligosaccharides (an alternative sweetener), other artificial ingredients, such as calcium pantothenate (synthetically produced from formaldehyde), and genetically-modified soy.

Since these ingredients are either genetically-engineered or synthetically produced and do not exist in nature, it is completely misleading to consumers for these juices to claim to be “All Natural.”

As part of the settlement, Naked Juice, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, has agreed to remove the label “All Natural” from all of its juices and to pay a $9 million settlement to the class action group.

Without a question, this is a big, big win for consumers and is a huge step forward for more accurate labeling in the U.S. It also puts other food manufacturers on serious notice that GMOs are anything but natural and cannot be marketed as such.

Yet, as one digs deeper into the fine details of this lawsuit settlement, there are some extremely troubling details of which the general public is completely unaware.

THE DETAILS THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT

The lawyers representing four of the five plaintiffs (Adhoot & Wolfson; Glancy Binnkow & Goldberg; Finkelstein Thompson; Ridout Lyon & Ottoson), who negotiated and signed off on the settlement, agreed to a provision which said that they would not freely communicate with the press in order to publicize the case. Any communication would have to contain language that was agreed upon in the settlement or would need prior approval from Naked Juice.

If lawyers who are supposed to represent the interests of the class action group cannot freely talk to the press about the settlement and cannot have complete freedom to spread information about how consumers can make a claim to the $9 million dollars, it begs the question: whose interests are the plaintiffs’ lawyers truly representing?

Shouldn’t the plaintiff’s lawyers be speaking to as many members of the press as possible in order to increase awareness of the case, so as to maximize the number of people who participate in the settlement?

As it stands now, the only way consumers will be informed about the details of the settlement is if they were to somehow read an announcement in one of the following media outlets.

Publishing Schedule of Class Action Announcement

– Once in the West Coast and Northeast regional editions of Parade magazine

– Twice in People magazine

– Four times in USA Today, but only for California

By putting a muzzle on the plaintiff’s lawyers, Naked Juice is trying to achieve two objectives – to severely limit the amount of media coverage of this case and to minimize the number of consumers who will claim a piece of the settlement, both of which cause serious damage to the Naked Juice brand.

One reason that class action lawyers pursue these cases is that a serious injustice is taking place in the marketplace which needs to be reversed. Here, it is misleading labeling.

As such, one important aspect of class action lawsuits is that there are non-profits appointed to be the beneficiaries of any unclaimed amounts awarded to the class action group (consumers).

So, let’s say the group is awarded $100M but only $40M is claimed by consumers, the remaining $60M will go to the designated non-profits. As established by the courts, the designated non-profits in class action lawsuits MUST be related to the case.

In the Naked Juice case, the non-profits must be related to accurate labeling. However, two of the three designated non-profits, Mayo Clinic (50% of unclaimed funds) and local Legal Aid groups (25% of unclaimed funds), have nothing to do with accurate labeling.

One of the plaintiff’s lawyers, Tina Wolfson of Adhoot & Wolfson, e-mailed me and said that “The Mayo Clinic works to protect consumers from false advertising through education.” A consumer can be extremely educated but if a company is lying about claims on its packaging, education is not going to solve the problem.

She also went on to say that the “Legal Aid groups work to redress injuries caused by false advertising.” Their mission is to help people after the fact but does nothing to correct the problem going forward.

While these two non-profits are fine institutions, they don’t work to promote accurate labeling of food, and the goal is to support those organizations who are already working to make this happen.

Even if the unclaimed funds were a few hundred thousand dollars, this is a very, very significant amount to non-profits and can make a real difference in impacting public policy.

And the last thing that PepsiCo would want is to have their settlement money go directly into the pockets of organizations that are vigorously pursuing accurate labeling (i.e., pushing for the labeling of genetically-modified organisms.) Why do I say this?

It just happens that PepsiCo donated $2.5 million to defeat Proposition 37, California’s 2012 ballot initiative to label genetically-modified organisms.

One final note of importance.

The lawyers representing four of the five plaintiffs (Adhoot & Wolfson; Glancy Binnkow & Goldberg; Finkelstein Thompson; Ridout Lyon & Ottoson), who negotiated and signed off on this agreement, comprise one group of plaintiff’s lawyers.

Yet, there is another group of plaintiff’s lawyers (The Golan Firm, Francis & Mailman, Center for Science in the Public Interest). This second group DID NOT agree to the terms of the settlement and have since filed an opposition with the District Court to contest certain aspects of the settlement.

Among other reasons, this second group of lawyers did not believe that two of the three designated non-profits were appropriate choices.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

In order to raise awareness of the details of the settlement and to designate more appropriate non-profits, we strongly urge you to petition the District Court that Food Democracy Now! should be a 75% recipient of unclaimed funds, instead of The Mayo Clinic and local Legal Aid groups.

Food Democracy Now! is a grass roots movement of 650,000 farmers and citizens dedicated to building a sustainable food system that protects our natural environment, sustains farmers, and nourishes families. And a very important part of its mission is to push for the accurate labeling of food.

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324 Comments

I’ve been drinking his juice for a while now and I don’t notice different things happen in my body but I don’t know if it’s good or bad but after hearing this information I’m very upset and I want to stop drinking The Naked Juice smoothie

If you look up those ingredients for yourself, you will see they are not listed as unhealthy toxic substances, but rather vitamins and things occurring naturally in fruits and veggies. I’m confused about why this article says differently?? All Natural may be an issue though. Our government has created their own mess with labeling. LOOK UP THE INGREDIENTS AND MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND.

That’s fine as far as it goes, but what about “natural flavors,” which I believe can be used as the labeling name for a broad range of things, with no way to find out what it represents on a particular product label. The FDA has failed us big-time here. Think the manufacturer will tell you if you send them an email? I seriously doubt it. This might be used as a way to sneak something in, or a way to maintain flexibility to accommodate the vagaries of harvest, production and supply, or both. Being gluten-intolerant, I generally don’t buy anything with “natural flavors” in the ingredient list.

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You guys are all making way too big of a deal about this because you bought into a strongly worded and opinionated article. Grow some brains, this kind of stuff is all around you. Why don’t you go back to your whole foods who’s you ripping you off with 80% of their products being significantly under the labeled weight on the packaging.

So your response to people’s outrage at THIS example of corporate greed and untruths is that there are OTHER examples of corporate greed and untruths? Write an article about those, and we’ll be happy to comment on them, too. It doesn’t have to be either/or.

WOW. What is life? You can’t trust shit i swear! Thats the only drink that made me feel proud after drinking (and also tasted pretty amazing) and now I find out its not even natural… fuck u nature killers!

I began drinking naked juice with taking my blood pressure meds on Jan,9 20015.I was shocked this morning and very upset to read a post she sent to me this morning.I would drink the 15.2 bottle BLUE MACHINE! I immediately called and thanked her.my aunt was concerned! I have been having dominate pain in my stomach.my blood pressure for over a week now has been over whelming.headaches.pretty scared right now! DID THIS NAKED JUICE DO THIS TO ME?? SHOULD I HAVE A LAW SUIT??

UMMMM unclaimed funds?…. I I was apart of this class action..it took like six months to finally receive a check..and then on top of it it was for 12 dollars…..it was supposed to be $45…with a letter stating soooo many people joined that funds had to be spread out more….sooo where the fuck are unclaimed funds going

Funny thing, not only were many consumers not notified in time to submit a claim, this post came out after the settlement. So those of us who could have been included in the class action suit cannot submit one, no claims will be excepted after December 2013. Seems this was just another behind the doors, fool the public, money hungry lawyers wanting a piece of the action. When there are real unjustices being done, but are not a big money maker, the lawyers won’t even help. Heard alot of no harm no fowl. Lawsuits are filed only if there was damage caused, never for preventative action. Instead of someone having to go completely belly up, or lose a life, try stepping up to prevent situations. The laws were made for a reason, make them accountable before someone gets hurt.

Talking about formaldehyde is nothing but fear mongering to those who don’t understand chemistry. Formaldehyde is not in the drink. And if you think “made from formaldehyde” means formaldehyde is in the drink, or you’ll get the same effects from the calcium pentathonate that you get from formaldehyde, then you don’t know anything about chemistry.

Why doesn’t the author point out that calcium pentathonate is vitamin b5, but a more stable version than pantothenic acid (because calcium pentathonate is two pantothenic acid molecules bound together with a calcium)?

And vitamin b5 IS a naturally occurring chemical. So is fructooligosaccharide.

Synthetic doesn’t mean “not natural.” It means “made in a lab through chemical synthesis.” You can chemically synthesize something that occurs naturally, and yours would still be called synthetic even though it is chemically identical to the naturally occurring compound.

Great answer Paul. I work around benzene, (past times formaldehyde), toluene, etc. These are all scare words to most people who know nothing about chemical processes. I’m sure if these same people knew what went into creating the products they use daily ie., shampoos, toothpaste, hair gels and processed foods they’d never step into the supermarket again! Yeah sure! They going to make it themselves? No. Why? Too lazy! Too easy, just buy it. Trust your instincts though , there are some better products. Educate yourself!

It kind of reminds me of those old email chains about how “margarine was one molecule away from being plastic”, as if that actually meant anything. Water (H20) is two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms, making them one molecule away from each other. Moral of the Story: Lots of things are one molecule away from each other and it doesn’t mean a darn thing.

I used to drink Naked juice at least twice a day! I was silly enough to believe it was all natural until I was bored one day and looked into it. Seeing this confirms my suspicions and reinforces my new choice in drinks! I love the crisp refreshing taste of fruit but HATE having to succumb to artificial sweeteners! I purchased a water bottle at fruitea2go.com recently and I use it every day in place of the juices I was drinking. I get to create delicious and guilt free beverages with ease and take them anywhere! Not to mention I am saving tons of money and have never been more hydrated in my life!

Max, and everyone else… There was a thing going around last year to get a cut of the claim if you had drank Naked… I drank them for a year to two years… They sent me a 1.29 dollar check….a dollar twentyfive! Is there anything that can be done… Or is it literally a dollar a person!?

Max, you should really go see the KHQ news blurb floating around Facebook that links to your article. They have done either a really incompetent, or purposefully sensationalist summary which included a user comment, and it’s makes you look bad, IMO.

Wow, people really are lazy and gullible. Does no one bother to read, comprehend, and apply analytical thought? Just believe whatever this site tells you? This states that one of the ingredients is calcium pantothenate which is derived from formaldehyde. Anyone with basic comprehension and googling abilities (or some basic chemistry) can tell you that:

1. Something derived from something else does not mean that one is the same as the other. Example: Tomatoes come from the deadly nightshade family, but we eat them with no problems and are not poisoned by them as other plants from that family would cause.

2. Compounds are not their elements. Example: Pure Chlorine is unsafe and harmful to us, but when it is diluted for pools it helps keep them clean, and when we eat it in table salt, the chemical structure of it is completely safe.

3. Calcium pantothenate is commonly known as Vitamin B5. It is found in all kinds of foods and is absolutely safe to consume–both naturally and synthetically. The body uses it to metabolize carbohydrates, fats, and proteins for energy, reduce stress, make Vitamin D, produce hormones, and can even help people with skin conditions (such as psoriasis) and allergies.

Don’t be lazy. Don’t be gullible. Think for yourself. Do a search or two. Learn.

Shame on Pepsi for using misleading advertising, although it’s hardly surprising. Bit is a bit ironic that you use misleading information regarding formaldehyde to sensationalize your story, when as others have said it was merely used as a step in creating Vitamin B5 (or as you call it, the scary sounding calcium pantothenate).

So they can take the words ‘All Natural’ out and still serve anyone foolish enough to buy and drink this stuff all the poisons they choose – and it’s okay? Formaldehyde? My choice is to sign that petition and pass this excellent article around for all to read. We are so screwed when it comes to what is given the high sign to be sold to us as edible and drinkable. I guess our only solution is to watch out for each other and cut these products down at the knees whenever we can.

I have been purchasing naked juice and smoothies for sometime we have been giving it to our grandchildren including the seven month old. What can I do about this. Also I am allergic to Formaldehyde it cause me to have diarrhea and headaches.

Does anyone have any information on the Naked brand of coconut water? Was that involved in the lawsuit? I drink it a lot and it’s the only brand my husband loves as well. Hoping there is nothing bad in it!

GMOs are super natural and occur in nature all the time, MOST genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are just organisms that have been crossbred to show different traits than their other form. Its similar to evolution, but its being implemented purposefully by man. It usually doesn’t result in health defects. GMOs are not generally bad for you. They just aren’t “natural” in the sense that you could go out into the wild and find exactly the same thing.

I’ve drank this since the day it came out. I’ve always been a health nut and don’t drink sodas. I especially do not drink coke because of the chemicals. It’s no less than pathetically irresponsible to advertise that product as being the opposite of hat it actually was. They deserve to lose every single penny they’ve made on this.

The ignorant statements about calcium pantothenate in this article sicken me. Calcium pantothenate is also known at Vitamin B5! And just because it is man made using formaldehyde doesn’t mean it has formaldehyde in any appreciable levels or that it’s liberating formaldehyde into the body. I really wish people that have absolutely no understanding of chemistry wouldn’t make such ignorant widespread statements that panic the general population that have no training to distinguish between fact and fiction. Please act responsibly.

In an attempt to eat healthy, I started making smoothies in the morning. I was excited about using Naked Juice because it was all natural and because of all the fruits and vegetables claim to be in it. It wasn’t until recently that I was informed about this class action lawsuit and the reason for it. That was a very disappointing especially since I turned to Naked Juice in an effort to make healthy choices. I’ve told customers i preferred using it because i was getting a good dose of both fruits and veggies and it was all natual.

Does anyone have any reliable data on how many people were killed or seriously injured by drinking this stuff?

I can bet that the only reason this case was put together was to grab some coin from the maker of this drink, nothing else. All the article and the court case talks about is how much coin was being made by the winning of the case.

You want to live in a natural world, pack up your stuff and go live deep in a forest. You want to live in the modern world, drink your juice and shut up.

I AM JUST HEARING OF THIS ALSO AND HAVE CONSUMED THESE BEVERAGES EVERYDAY FOR QUITE SOME TIME NOW.. I WAS JUST DIAGNOSED WITH AN INTESTINAL INFECTION AND THEY ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE IT CAME FROM….I UNREAL!!…

I have dranked naked juice faithfully for years, thinking I was drinking a healthy product. I too was in the ER Christmans Eve 2012, in a lot of pain, diagnosed with acid reflux. I could not understand as I am a healthy eater and drinker (so I thought). It’s also a real shame I am just learning about this and it’s past the date to file a clain. However $45.00 is a joke!

Formaldehyde is a product of normal human metabolism and is present in every breath you exhale. It is toxic, but technically so is sugar and so is water, which are directly present in these drinks. Formaldehyde is not. A formaldehyde derivative is, and because formaldehyde is the most basic aldehyde, every single ketone or aldehyde that exists anywhere is a formaldehyde derivative.

Aldehydes are responsible for many pleasant aromas and flavorings. They are present in perfumes, essential oils, and your body. The pleasant flavoring/aroma of vanilla and cinnamon, for example, come from aldehydes. All sugars are aldehydes or ketones. Glucose, that one that you need to live, that is an aldehyde and is therefore a derivative of formaldehyde. Fructose, the stuff that is present in every food item you can buy these days, that is a ketone and it is also a derivative of formaldehyde. Deoxyribose and ribose, the backbones of DNA and RNA are aldehydes. Amines, the groups that along with carboxylic acid make up amino acids are also easily derived from formaldehyde. Amino acids are linked together to form proteins.

Next time somebody tries to tell you that something is bad because of the chemicals that are used to make it, know that everything is made out of harmful chemicals. As long as pure formaldehyde is not in there, you’re ok.

Also, to all of you talking about cancer- The toxicity of formaldehyde is primarily from its easy reduction into formic acid, which is particularly nasty and has a tendency to accumulate in the eyes and acid melt them to make you blind. So before you die of cancer, you’ll go blind and melt from the inside out

Table salt is derived from sodium and chlorine. An incredibly important trait of chemical reactions is that chemical properties can change drastically, so please take the resultant chemical on its own merits and hazards and not those of its reactants.

I totally agree with hanger on. Lawyers are the witch hunters. Can we bring a lawsuit against them for false lawsuits? Unless you grow your own everything, there is no way to know what is natural and what is not.

first of all, any consumer who reads a label that says “all naturel” and thinks it is just that….is a fool……if it has a label, it is not natural….EVERYTHING that is processed is NOT natural. so what do we do ???? you get the tar, and I’ll bring the feathers…or better yet, lets make it a witch hunt…I’ll bring the matches…what a bunch of idiots…and no I’m not a troll, I just have a brain…

Seen this lawsuit on facebook a couple moths ago after drinking down a half bottle of the naked green,,that was my favorite,,i had been drinking them off and on for about 3 months,,,I wanted to gag ,,when i seen this,,and i will not buy any more,,,,started to make my own juices, this is BS

So, I have pretty much moved on to home juicing and products like Suja and Blueprint. However, I can’t find anyone that makes a tomato-based smoothie or juice so I’m still purchasing the Naked Tomato Kick product due to a lack of better options.

Any advice, Max? I am more comfortable with my green juice options but don’t like juicing tomatoes and peppers at home. Do you know of any products that might be carried nationally (e.g. Whole Foods, etc)?

I’m sorry but this is about Naked Juice not being totally honest with the label All Natural. But here we have a website bashing them and doing exactly the same !!! Please get your facts right and stop scaremongering !

What part of that 9 million do I get, I’ve been drinking Naked Juice for years now only thinking it was doing me good and know there is a “Class Action Lawsuit!!!:Not only did Pepsi lie to the consumers and still proceeded to mass produce their product to sell in stores all around the world.Because of this LIE to the general public as well as everyone else I no longer buy or use any more product’s made by Pepsi

The article in no ways helps readers in filing a claim. Rather, its focus is on redirecting the unclaimed funds to an organization “Food Democracy Now” that I’ve never heard of. So, do we know what FDN does? Do we know what percentage of contributions to FDN go to overhead costs vs. advocacy? Do we know whether FDN is run by the author’s sister? Perhaps you do, but I don’t. So what’s so bad about letting the unclaimed funds go to a well known and reputable institution that does good work in the interest of public health?

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I filed a claim after reading the notice in Parade. It was denied because they say I put a checkmark in the wrong box. Since they have the online claim, I cannot defend their denial. They offered no redress. There’s fifteen dollars I’ll never see…

Well, the plaintiffs’ lawyers don’t represent you, me, or anyone else in the public. Their only job is to protect their clients. If they got a bigger settlement for their clients in return for keeping the deal a secret, then they’re doing their job correctly. So, although the labeling issue here is troubling, your outrage about the secret settlement terms is misplaced.

I would sign this petition. But I refuse to give my personal information. In no way is an E-mail address required (I get enough garbage mail think you very much), and you certainly do not need to know where I live.

Sadly, I am unwilling to lend my voice to this cause, as noble as it is, because I’m not going to tell you where I am and how to reach me.

For the people hounding on the high school chemistry facts— Max’s post isn’t about persuading you to think that these chemicals are terrible (that is an opinion you form on your own and keep to yourself, whether or not you want to drink Naked juice after knowing these facts is also a choice you make on your own) but about the wrongs of Naked juice in lying to people. Detrimental to the human body or not, none of these chemicals are “natural” as they claimed. That is their wrong and they should be called out for it.

Well this is very disturbing, we have purchased it over the years for our toddler son who is failure to thrive. We were using it as a supplement with nutrients and calories as it has. So knowing that it potentially could be as risky as using ensure to boost his nutrition is VERY alarming. I have hundreds of receipts showing the items we bought, and not to mention I have already contacted Kroger and let them know my concerns, my next step is to boycott naked juice and let them know they crossed the line. I was not aware they were part of Pepsi co, otherwise I would have stayed clear. There is NO trust at all in these large companies to tell us the whole truth. There is nothing honorable about what they do or stand for in my opinion.

Anyone who thinks Naked Juice contains poison based on this article knows nothing about chemistry. This website is a joke, and the lawyers who brought this suit are a bunch of extortionists. As several people with actual brains have already pointed out, Calcium Panothenate is Vitamin B5. However, allow me to explain the “Formaldehyde derivative” thing. Formaldehyde is indeed nasty stuff. It is also the simplest substance in a very large and commonly occurring functional group (Aldehydes), and therefore, there is a huge family of substances that are technically “derived from formaldehyde”. NONE of them are toxic via the same mechanism as formaldehyde, because formaldehyde itself (chemical formula O=C-H-H is as near as I can type it out though obviously the second H is bound to the Carbon not the first H) because its the Carbon atom that becomes highly reactive in this configuration, and when a whole other functional group takes the place of 1 of those single hydrogen atoms, the carbon becomes much more stable. So “formaldehyde derivative” is intended by the lawyers and idiot author to imply “made from something really toxic and nasty”, but chemically, it actually means “random benign substance containing an extremely simple and common functional group”. Hell, Panothenic literally means “Universally Occurring” or “Found Everywhere”.

The amount of formaldehyde in Naked Juice is most like measured by mcg. This is micrograms, meaning the percent is probably around 0.00003%. To put this amount into perspective, by age 5, an American child weighs about 50-55 pounds and their body contains 55mcg of Uranium. Yet none of them have developed radiation sickness. The formaldehyde is in the preservatives in the drink, and you’re more likely to die from driving down the road and inhaling formaldehyde than drinking it in juice. Anything is poisonous if we try hard enough. Water, which gives us life, can also kill us at the right amount. That doesn’t mean we stop drinking water. It is actually postulated that oxygen can kill you, it just takes 80-100 years to poison you. Quantity is an important factor in issues like these. Microscopic amounts can’t quite possibly kill us. Also, do you think that Naked Juice is the only thing with trace amounts of formaldehyde in it? If you attempted to rid your diet and lifestyle of everything that could kill you, you would be dead anyways. I’ve drank Naked Juice for several years now, and I’m still around.

Calcium pantothenate is vitamin B5, guys, lmao. Taking small doses is good for you, especially if you’re breast feeding. There is so many forms of formaldehyde, and not all of them are the bad, scary “preserves your organs like the Egyptians did” kind.

I do agree they should be advertising all their ingredients, but to go off on the one when you don’t have all the proper information is just as bad.

Okay, Google User, They USED to teach things like “calcium pentothenate” is a vitamin! They teach our children very little useful stuff anymore, just political doctrine and left wing garbage. But, I have to agree that all this “where can I get in on the money” is a load of crap. Chances are, the person who “will be tested for this” will find nothing in the drink will be present and causing their illness. Most folks will not be affected by it. But, it comes down to the fact that “I” want to be the one to choose. Like the man who stated that his “beliefs” as well as possibly the health of his 2 week old son were compromised because the label was not complete and accurate, I too am furious. This is what this should be all about, doing it right, putting the correct info out and letting us the consumer make the decision, not whether you can get “a few bucks” out of a class action suit or not.

Conservatives don’t believe that the companies producing the things we consume should have to label them at all. And they certainly don’t believe in holding large corporations accountable for anything. So, you must be a leftist too.

I am one of those “nuts” who are pushing for labeling of GMO’s. I do understand that we, as well as the animals and plants are all a form of “genetic modification”. This is nature at it’s best. The difference is I DO NOT want to ingest food that has been genetically modified to produce it’s own weed killer or bug killer!!! I have no beef with going from plant to plant. I know how we have arrived here in time with the different types of plants, it was and still is, natural. It is when you start to add in the genes from other species that I have a major problem with, we all should. We should at least have the right to choose to eat it or not. It should all be labeled! That way “I” choose what to eat, not the farmer, the government, the ad agency or the grocer, but “ME”. This is the crux of the argument. If you put it in and you believe in it, then say so. If you try to hide it behind “empty” words, then you (the company making it) feels like it is not quite up to par! If I am looking at anything, I will read the ingredients and it makes me furious when it says “natural flavors” or something like it. How do I know I can trust “the powers that be” will be honest and that they really are “all natural flavors”? The answer to that is—I can’t! So, label it correctly and those who care about what they eat will be a happier bunch! Many people don’t care or they trust all those companies to do right and not put harmful things in their food. I for one, do not. So, humor me!!! And, I resent being labeled as someone who is ignorant about science and doesn’t know about things like formaldehyde and all it’s properties and that we produce a form of it in our own bodies. I am well educated and I research things like that. Unfortunately, there are too many who don’t care about where their food comes from and too many too ready to call anyone who questions their belief as uneducated and ignorant! I thought I lived in America where I had the right to my opinion and a right to expect my food to be labeled so “I” could be the one to decide whether or not I wanted to eat it!

I have been drinking this juice since it came out and I need to know how I can get in on this law suit. I have been having alot of problems this year ad they can not find out what is wrong, I will be tested for this. I pray that there is nothing permenant…Please send information on how to get into this. Thank you.

One of the main problems with ingredients lists is that the natural ingredients can be sprayed or treated with toxic chemicals to make them sterile & long life and you can never know. When its organic do they have to avoid chemicals for washing & packing too or is it just when growing the product?

I’m not worried about a refund for my purchases. I’m interested in money owed for my pain and suffering as well as violation of my personnel beliefs. My family and I r strictly organic and gmo free. We even use environmentally friendly household cleaners. My wife and drink naked juice regularly, however my biggest concern is the fact that she drank naked juice daily during her pregnancy and the effect it may have now or in the future on my 2 week old son. This is no joke of a matter and I am extremely upset. How do I obtain retribution?

To everyone freaking out, the chemical listed isn’t actually formaldehyde, it is merely derived from it. Just because something is derived from a dangerous chemical, does not mean it shares any of the dangerous properties of the chemical it is derived from. Hydrogen peroxide can be derived from water, yet is toxic to ingest, but by this article’s reasoning, it would be okay to consume because it is derived from a harmless material.This article is just sensationalizing this story to make it sound as if naked is dangerous to your health, even though it is not. Please get the facts straight before sharing this all over social media and scaring people that ought not to be scared.

I love these juices they have really gave me energy and I like the green the best but I only drink two kind the orange carrot, and the green kind. I like it so much that I would drink the whole bottle and I did not know that you suppose to drink just a little of the juice until me and my friend was in Walmart look at them just last night and I told her to just get the green one because I did not like the other one the taste was not good to me so she just got the green one just last night and now to here that it may be a chemical compound in it oh my god what people going to happen next.I guess we don’t know what we are eating at all now.

OMG, Everyone wanting to jump on that lawsuit band wagon. Do your homework. Sadly, again, you won’t get something for nothing. This is not proven to be harmful. If your REALLY so worried about your health, squeeze your own juice. Or is that too much for you? It’s probably easier to file a lawsuit with something you really know nothing about. Sad Americans

Wow. This is nearly the only juice I gave my daughter since she was able to drink juice. I always read the labels and thought that I was doing something good for her. Wow. She literally had some of this over the past weekend.

I have drank this quite a bit and I have had a lot of digestive problems and did not know about this lawsuit. How do you inquire about join the class action suit I wonder? I will never drink this crap again. YIKES!

I have been drinking naked juice drinks for almost a year now and about a month or two ago i started having really bad abdomen pains…..i am diagnosed with fatty liver but am wondering if it maight besomething caused by this drink. The pain never goes away. And to think this drink is to be healthy but yet more and more foods and drinks are becoming unhealthy.

formaldehyde is a common raw material used to make many organic chemical compounds, a great number of which are completely safe for human consumption. just because formaldehyde is used to manufacture something, it doesn’t mean that the end product contains formaldehyde, or anything even chemically resembling formaldehyde. the chemical reactions usually do not leave behind any of the precursors, meaning that these juices that contain chemical additives “derived from formaldehyde” do not contain formaldehyde, nor are they toxic as a result of the chemicals in them, made from formaldehyde. this article doesn’t even remotely tell the whole story, and serves to feed people’s fears.

Just because a chemical is made with another does not mean that the chemicals have the same properties. Calcium pantothenate is not carcinogenic and can be naturally produced. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.

Don’t really think there is a story here. Class action lawsuits are generally aimed at punishing perpetrators/getting an issue fixed, not awarding damages to injured parties. The main purpose of the lawsuit was to get the correct labeling on the packaging, which was accomplished. Naked has every right to protect it’s brand and name going forward and I don’t think there is really anything shameful going on here. Your main gripe seems to be that not enough people are going to get their little sliver of the $9 million dollar settlement (which by class action lawsuit standards is pretty paltry). That money would do much more good going to ANY 1 or 2 nonprofits than being split up among thousands of consumers getting $10.

So what happens to the people who suffered injuries to drinking these drunks?? I was drinking the protein drinks several times a week from aug. 2012-2013. April 2013 i went to the ER With extreme pain in my upper side of my stomach and back and now have a $10,000 ER bill I cant afford. I never went to the doctor before that but that issue couldnt be avoided as it got ao bad I was laid out and missed work. Had I known to ask doctors to test me for the substance would have helped!! But how was I suppose to know? I still have pain there. Please help someone?

Thank you Richard Schwalb. I was just gonna make a rant about the calcium pantothenate. That alone proves that the author of this did no research at all and just wants to scare people on to his side of the argument by using the phrase “formaldehyde derivative.” Calcium pantothenate is GOOD for you and it has been shown in scientific studies that deficiencies in it can lead to brain problems. There are many things that are essential to life, but are chemical derivatives of harmful things. People don’t realize that most derivatives don’t have any of the effects of the original chemical.

I drank these drinks all the time. But I don’t have any receipts to prove it. I am sick about the lies of products saying natural and even paying more for a healthy drink and we have been deceived. It’s really sad that company’s don’t care about the people just about the money they can put into there pockets. That’s really a shame I’m thinking I am getting a heathy drink.

It is funny seeing all the comments about how people are now permenantly sick now from drinking a juice. If people would do some research they would realize that there are toxic chemicals in almost every food you eat. No matter what you do you will always ingest toxic substances into your body, the only way not to is to stop ingesting food drinking or breathing. Fruits and vegetables contain substances that can kill you in high enough doses. I wish people would stop preaching to me about stuff they have no clue about.

Some of this may be true, and obviously the plaintiff’s had a strong case and rightfully won, but this article appears to have some misinformation about Calcium pantothenate. Calcium pantothenate is an essential vitamin – Vitamin B5. Vitamin B5 or pantothenic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin found in most foods. It is naturally produced in the body by bacteria in the intestines, but people must supplement their intake by either absorbing the vitamin through the ingestion of food or by taking a vitamin B complex. Calcium pantothenate is essential for the body’s production of hormones, energy production, fat storage, and many other bodily processes. It might also be synthesized artificially, and formaldehyde might be used in that process, but I don’t think it is produced from formaldehyde, nor should any formaldehyde be present in the final product.

They don’t put ANYTHING poisonous in Naked juice. Calcium pantothenate is better known as Vitamin B5 and it’s an essential nutrient for many animals. It aids in metabolizing carbohydrates. All of you people are GULLIBLE! Do your research before jumping on the ignorant bandwagons.

Label read and I quote “. The Naked truth We use only the freshest,purest stuff in the world and leave out everything else”. “No added sugar, no preservatives , non-GMO. vegan “. Call a spade a spade. It’s a lie! Just tell people what it is.

My advise eat clean, juice your own juice, grow your own gardens and because obviously the only person looking out for YOU is YOU.

We are a greedy, litigious society. How can anyone feel that they deserve monetary compensation just because this company (may or may not have) mislabeled their product? I’ve bought the product and can’t fathom taking a cent. Anyone who wants a piece of the settlement is what’s wrong with this society. Our founding fathers are rolling in their graves. The only reason there should even be money involved is to send the message not to do it.

What most humans, like me, found out too late, is that all fruit juice, bought in the shops, contributes to acidity in the body. Hence ending in severe joint trouble, leading to crippled walking. I used to believe bottled juice to be as healthy as can be. The only fruit juice good for you, is when juiced by yourself to enjoy within half an hour.

Keep drinking naked. This is BS scare tactics. I would be a little suspicious of the article since they like to word things in a way to confuse you. There is a difference between being formaldehyde and deriving from it. It is like saying salt is derived from chlorine which is a super poisonous gas, but its safe as salt. Sodium is also very poisonous. The scary thing derived from formaldehyde is actually vitamin b5 it is exactly the same as the vitamin b5 made by the bacteria in our stomachs. Of course they are going to call it calcium pantothenate and not b5 because it makes them look bad. Anything can be derived from anything if you break it down and reassemble it. The only legitimate argument they have is the all natural label but even that is iffy because even though it is synthetically made it exists in nature that way also there is no difference.

– Pantothenic acid – Otherwise known as Vit B5, used in all energy producing reactions in humans as part of Coenzyme A – Fructooligosaccharides – a prebiotic (food for microbes) provides energy for many GI tract probiotic bacteria, some of the highest amounts of which are found in breast milk. – Soluble fiber – found in most all plant products, also great for GI health as a prebiotic. Most people consume far less fiber than the RDA – GM soy, conclusive evidence says it is not dangerous and nutritionally it is not discernibly different from regular soy.

While some of them may have been produced with microbial fermentations (bioprocessing) or biotechnology it does not necessarily mean they are not natural. Very few things we can synthetically derive are also not naturally derived. It is exhausting having to see some very benign compounds propped up as the worst things in the world. Scare tactics have no business in foods, it is far to easy

This is ridiculous. Calcium pantothenate is an essential vitamin for many species, and most definitely does occur in nature. It’s DERIVED from formaldehyde, which means it is NOT formaldehyde! Maybe it was produced synthetically, but it has the EXACT SAME STRUCTURE as what you would extract from a fruit or vegetable! Please do a little bit of research before publishing this fear-mongering nonsense that just perpetuates ignorance of chemistry and biology in the world.

Who cares whats in products, it has been there for years and no one is forceing anyone to buy them much less eat or drink them.I am 50 and was eating table food at 6months and I am healther then alot of younger people I know because I stay active..The main thing wrong with the USA today is everyone is so greedy and wants more money, well guess what you cant take it with when you die, we need to put tree huggers,health nuts and the like on a small island and take our country back. Yes I am a vet

How does a consumer get in on the. Settlement funds. I drank Naked once a day during the 2nd trimester of pregnancy and would like to know if this is had anything to do with my UNEXPLAINED pre-term labor and DELIVERY at 25 weeks gestation. If anyone knows, please share the informatuion.

Seeing the response of MANY of the people on here just strengthens the reality that we are so weak in the USA when it comes to having a high scientific aptitude. People, for crying out loud, formaldehyde is not in the final product, be it the juice or Pantothenic Acid. Chances are the bulk of the additives did not come from just a naturally occurring source like a plant. Many of the items that are found in the drink were probably synthetically derived. But the structure of the compounds are no different than the compounds as they exist in nature.

I’m looking at the label and not seeing anything that states that it is 100% Natural with no added ingredients, other than maybe sugar. But even that can be misleading as the term sugar can relate to any other sugar that isn’t sucrose (or table sugar). How many of you would consume the following compound: ((2R,3R,4S,5S,6R)-2-[(2S,3S,4S,5R)-3,4-dihydroxy-2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)oxapent-2-yl]oxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxahexane-3,4,5-triol)? Intimidating isn’t it? But without proper knowledge and understanding of what it is, you would probably shy away from it. I mean it has hexane in it for Christ’s sake! BTW, that’s just another way to say table sugar. How about α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-fructofuranoside? Does that work for you instead? Again, I just said table sugar in another way.

Knowledge is key. And when you don’t know, that fear of the unknown can be used against you every time. Don’t let your fear get the better of you.

I wish I had seen that this lawsuit was happening. The only thing in my area that mentioned it was Parade which comes only in a Sunday paper that I do not subscribe to. And I don’t buy People magazine either. They could have used better means to communicate this to the public, but I guess that would havelet too many people in on the lawsuit. I was drinking this stuff thinking it was good and now I find out it’s more pure crap falsely mislabeled.

Why dont y’all just read the friggin ingredients?!?! I’ve known this juice was full of garbage for years by just reading the label. Don’t be stupid enough to let the big companies win!! Its not even hard. If you can buy it at the supermarket, then it is being made by a large corporation that has making money, and not your well being, as its main interest. Don’t believe the hype, labels, or advertisers! shop at farmer’s markets! Grow your own!

I’m very upset! I drink this stuff everyday! I’ve been giving this to my two boys, ages 1 and 3. I got my coworkers drinking it. I’ve been telling everybody that it was natural based on the information on the label. This is truly false advertising. I have some in my fridge right now!!!

My body is distroid kidneys produce stones. 16 inches of my small intestine removed and placed where my rioters used to be and a Scar the length of half my torso. And I can claim 45 dollars thanks but what does that do for my health issues? Because of no recites. Some real justice for A broken system.

I’m so tired of this article popping up on my newsfeed on Facebook. I have a good knowledge of Naked Juice. I have been working and drinking Naked Juice for a good time now. Can you tell me at what point I’m adding these chemicals? I think you have no idea the reprecusions you’ve had on the people who make Naked Juice. As far as the industry goes, we have the most in depth testing procedures, the strictest leadership, and in my opinion the best teams. I challenge you to find a close competitor that produces the volume and quality we produce. Don’t worry I’ll wait. One more opinion that has nothing to do with Naked Juice; I think most of the peoe writing these articles are just looking for a way to make their name known, they care not about the jobs they may be ruining or the lives they affect or how little they actually know about the product they are ridiculing.

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I wish people would read the comments before posting. Same comments answered over and over. I drank the stuff all the time till my kids became vegatarians and bought their own juicer. Nothing but REAL organic juices everyday. If you want real juice you have to do it yourself. You can almost consider all corporate juices crap. You wont get any money in a lawsuit so make the change. Dont support these craporate companies anyways.

I used to drink naked product for two week straight.I got very sick I thought that I can lose some weight by drinking that as a meal.NOW MY QUESTION IS WHERE THE NINE MILLION DOLLARS ARE GOING .BECAUSE PART OF THAT MONEY CAME OUT OF MY POCKET.ARE WE THE BUYER ARE GOING TO GET SOMETHING FROM IT?THERE IS MY E MAIL ADRESS Above.

Everyone listen. This product contains a very toxic chemical that’s derived from another chemical. The chemical it contains is a synthetic form of vitamin B5. This is an outrage! This company is literally trying to make their product healthy, and they should be ashamed of themselves for adding vitamins to these juices. Everyone please share this with all of your friends so they know just how dangerous taking vitamins is and eating foods with natural vitamin B5 already in them. Can you believe it, we have been eating this stuff unwittingly for millenia as a species! Something must be done!

I think it’s good that companies are being held liable for false advertising, but come on. Anyone with sense about them checks the food labels and does their research before they consume any drink or food product instead of seeing food marketing buzzwords like ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ and assuming that they must be healthy. Also, this is a big win for the LAWYERS, not the consumers! The lawyers have gotten a huge paycheck, while the companies will turn to different words and phrases to convey pseudo-positive messages about their products to the consumer. Nothing different here.

The general population’s ignorance of chemistry has boggled my mind for decades. Just because something has an eight-syllable name doesn’t mean it is harmful. Nowhere is it claimed that the Naked juice is harmful, only that it is mislabeled. BFD!! Another win for the ambulance-chasing lawyers and opportunistic consumers.

1. i have bought this and its good and tatste very naturally to me. 2. i dont believe this. 3 i want proof that this is really true and 4. this hasnt been in the news papers or on the news so when it gets there then i will beleive it but for now i dont.

I think leading people to the idea that calcium pentothenate is in any way effectively similar to formaldehyde is immoral, wrong, and beneath any reasonable journalistic standards. It’s plain bad science and it’s misinformative. It’s a B-complex vitamin and it’s almost ubiquitously naturally occurring. Fructooligosaccharides? Naturally occurring. The fiber? not naturally occurring, but is covered by the “+boosts” on the labels that contain it. So is this just a GMO fight then?

Wtf up until this morning I would drink get the biggest jug of the green machine I could find in 2 days up until this morning and I’ve been buying it since2009 so I guess in done now since I just seen this….

Why are you fear-mongering about formaldehyde being in Naked Juice? Oh yeah, it’s because you sell your own juices. You are being deceptive, while you decry deception by Naked.

It is telling that you have a Masters of Business Administration, and not a degree in medicine, chemistry, or any other field of science. Your expertise is in making money, and obviously, you’re more than willing to use half-truths to make a buck.

I’d be surprised if you allow this post to be made, and I certainly doubt you’ll thank me for it. 😉

A major issue here is that the FDA does NOT legally define “natural.” That means that companies can interpret the word as they see fit. Other label claims such as “organic,” “reduced fat,” “reduces heart disease,” etc. all have definitions set by the FDA that companies must comply with, or their product must be removed and the label claim changed. It’s unfortunate that consumers are not educated enough to know what ingredients in foods are. But many don’t. We dietitians strive to help solve this problem, but we are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of falsely advertised products and others on the internet making false claims. Not only should the funds of this settlement go towards non-profits that are making efforts to correct this, but the FDA needs to seriously look at the definition of “natural” on food labels and set out language that defines what constitutes “natural” foods.

I drink Naked on a regular basis & this is the first I have heard of it. How can I get involved in this suit? I try to stay healthy & eat right & this is something that may cause huge issues in the future. I want to be included.

Yeah, the name is “naked” and it’s supposedly ‘all natural” but if you actually read the label you would know immediately that the juice is full of additives. Do you people drink bottled orange juice?. Let’s talk about formaldehyde!!

I am disabled and cannot eat. I have relied on Naked for the past few years for my juice diet, because it is real food. I do not need or want or would buy anything that would harm my health. I have containers of Naked in my freg now. This is upsetting to me.

Come on! This is a typical media driven scare tactic! We are exposed to more formaldehyde in the air and environment around us than we ever would be through food. Your body also produces formaldehyde on it’s own as a by product of cell metabolism. The extraneous formaldehyde that we are exposed to via foods we eat (mostly fruits, veggies, meats, etc) do not bio-accumulate in the body because it is rapidly broken down into harmless products. Any chemical you come into contact with will have it’s toxic level, but reaching that level via food is not likely. The media is ridiculous! I swear they believe that no one in our country ever took an courses in chemistry or toxicology.

Soooooo…………I guess they’re just a bunch of POSER-HIPPIE-WANNABE’S?! I mean, just SAY what’s in your crap & market it as something else! People LOVE garbage in their food & drink! Callin crap-in-a-can and I bet it still sells because it tastes good and it’s EXPENSIVE! lol…….the more it costs, the more you’ll sell…..jerks! WHERE’S DAVID HOROWITZ WHEN WE NEED HIM?!

Its vitamin B5! What shameful sensationalism in the media? Now that is misleading. 1st- thank you I get $75 back. BUT As far as formeldahyde so do wheaties and multivitamins. The news should never EVER report science! The formeldahyde linked chemical is vitamin B5- Pantothenic acid or calcium pantothenate. It is an essential vitamin. We have to have it. So unles you are eating shitake mushrooms or avocados or trout everyday you are probably eating artificial B5. If you take a multivitamin, you take it. The news gets rich by giving people something to fear. The basic rundown is this- they say all natural, but boost it with vitmimans. The vitamins are not all natrual. So the claim for severe health nuts is, it isnt 100% (welches does the same thing on their juice, we got a bunch of coupons for calling them out on it). Now something that is dangerous-red dye 40 is derived from petroleum- and unlike vitamin b5 has no nutritional value.

I don’t believe much of this information is accurate. A significant portion of ANY settlement goes to the lawyers involved. Consumers can expect to receive at most a pittance of the funds. In this case, I’d be surprised if any consumer receives more than $5, and I think that is high. This is much ado about nothing. The only significant thing in this is the change in labeling. Take your win and move on.

Oh, and a chemical “formulated from formaldehyde” DOES NOT CONTAIN formaldehyde. Some people commenting don’t seem to get that.

While I absolutely agree that this is a horrible abuse of consumer trust and directly misleading advertising, unfortunately I don’t see this law suit going anywhere. And this is not a pessimistic view, just reluctantly realistic. Due to some considerable lobbying efforts by industrial food organizations, very few terms are actually defined and regulated by the FDA or any other federal agency. The term “all natural” being the most misleading is entirely unregulated.

If you want to guarantee your food is safe, buy USDA certified Organic. Then you at least have a chance of getting “All Natural.” Better yet, contact your congressperson and senator and demand that they take action and approve legislation to standardize labeling and prevent misleading the consumer. “All Natural” should be a defined and regulated term. Sure it may shake up the industry a bit but it will benefit the organizations that are already being truthful to their customers.

I am so upset right now. I have 2 kids who are both chronic asthmatics and I try to feed them well because of the meds they have to take. They hardly eat any meat so veg and fruit juices are important in their diets. They love these juices and I buy them weekly. This makes me sick and angry. Should I be worried about their health right now? Please clear this up for me. Thanks.

So it was not all in my head! I have drank this stuff for awhile, specifically the protein one and have had severe intestinal problems to the point I had to go to the hosp. I though it was in my head because they could never figure out what was wrong. I stopped drinking these so much and I did help some but now I have random boots that make me feel like im dying. Ugh I can’t believe this! Is my body messed up forever?

I drank naked for ears and years until i got pregnant with my little girl. It wasstrangeto me seeing i could handle the fruits solo but the naked version kept making me sick so i stopped the remainder of the pregnancy…

The derivative they use is called calcium pantothenate/pantothenic acid, has been in use since 1933, and has no known toxic dosage. It’s a synthetic Vitamin C. You, Mr. Goldberg, are being as deceitful as Pepsi by misrepresenting the facts. I expect a correction added to the article.

The “derivative” they’re referring to is actually Ethylene, a natural hormone found in the plants used to make this beverage. If you break down formaldehyde you get oxygen and ethylene – neither are dangerous to ingest. It’s highly unlikely they would spend the resources adding ethylene when the ingredients naturally provide it.

Btw.., regarding a comment about natural fruits being harmful because they are high in fructose. High in fructose is not refined granulated sugar which has no nutritional value, and spells disaster to the ‘blood sugar’ regulatory system…

Fruits have been eaten by our cavemen ancestors and their ancestors too. And they all got us here, fit and healthy… Fruits have amino acids and many other needed benefits that far outweigh and problem their sugar content might pose. They are natural foods which humans need…

As far as I’m concerned Naked Juice is terrific and I’ll be buying more of it now… I always considered the labeling to be talking about what the fruit juice itself was… Not the preservatives or whatever that are in everything we eat or drink these days anyway. Especially those NON fruit, carbonated artificial flavored, loaded with corn syrup, sodas, etc. that are now making everyone fat…

There was a settlement that the lawyers agreed to in court. They had their reasons. Perhaps that they knew they didn’t have a rock solid case and could loose if it was pursued…

We need to heed our court system since we’re supposed to have the best one there is. Their decisions are all that really matter because we weren’t on the jury and we don’t know all the facts. Who are you to start talking it up badly now, unless it’s the lawyers sleazy way of getting around their agreement… ??

This is a very interesting take on how the legal work and nutrition world collide. However, from a legal standpoint, no side “wins” in a settlement. This agreement was not reached as a result of a trial (i.e. after all evidence was considered). A pre-trial settlement (which this was) means both are losers, just one side less of a loser.

Because they decided to settle – and thus not bring this case to court where it’s basically a crap shoot for both sides – each side had to give up/gained a bargaining chip so to speak. If Pepsi Co. was willing to settle a class action lawsuit wherein the commodity in question (Naked Juice), distributed nationwide, for ONLY $9 million raises serious questions as to how strong the Plaintiff’s case really was to begin with under the current laws — which protect, to some degree, a corporation’s speech (read: 1st Amendment).

Further, to send the unclaimed money, if there is any, to a grassroots organization not solely comprised of lawyers working to change existing laws (i.e. the very laws that contributed to this “weak” settlement) is beyond wasteful. Food Democracy Now! is probably a great organization made up of equally great people, but their ability as compared to a lawyers ability to skillfully argue the law (even change the law through arguments made to judges and the legislature) is not even close.

So par for the course for Corporate America.. Feed me poison and offer me fifty cents for my troubles. We’ve been drinking these expensive ass drinks since they were introduced. I know Damn well they’ve made more than $9 mil. How this is a fair number eludes my understanding unless they were hoping that everybody be dead by the time the news surfaced.

Ok… I just want to point out something. The remark (which the writer bolded for emphasis) “synthetically produced from formaldehyde” is alarmist and misleading. First, formaldehyde is often use as a precursor for many chemicals. But that formaldehyde is turned into something completely different with completely different properties. Water is made of Hydrogen and oxygen… we know from the Hindenburg that Hydrogen is dangerous because it explodes. Those who scream that something that was made using formaldehyde as a precursor and is deadly should, by their logic be screaming that their swimming pool is filled with hydrogen and should explode. Formaldehyde’s chemical properties on it’s own have no bearing on the chemicals made from it.

Also just because something sounds chemically, doesn’t mean it’s bad… Asorbic Acid sound bad for you, but we all need more Vitamin C. And that chemical that is so horrible because it is made from formaldehyde? You know, that calcium pantothenate stuff? That’s also called vitamin B5.

On another note, they shouldn’t get a dime. If consumers were more aware of labeling in the first place, they would know that “all-natural” is not regulated by any organization. IT LITERALLY MEANS NOTHING! The way that most products are labeled is generally intentionally misleading… a lot like this article. They present the information, just not in a way that most people understand. I don’t see anybody suing this journalist. Can anybody tell me what “natural beef” is? I am not sure that I can. Most would generally give me an organic definition. News flash, organic is probably worse from an environmental standpoint. The cows produce just as many byproducts, require more land to be used, and sick cows are not allowed to be treated with medications that humans take for granted which is terrible for animal welfare. They can’t even use painkillers because though some are approved, the withdrawal time for use of the milk is too long and costs too much as a result. As for organic crops, they have an approved list of “organic” pesticides and other products. These pesticides can be more dangerous and are more likely to affect us because our bodies are organic. There is a reason that conventional pesticides are used in conventional operation rather than the alternative organic ones.

It doesn’t explicitly state that the product contains formaldehyde but you are incorrect in stating that it is not implied. Generally most anti-GMO and “organic” nuts are not well informed. Most cannot have a simple conversation and provide factual evidence for their opinions. It is ok to have an unsupported opinion, but intentionally misleading people into believing that your opinion is well supported in order to scare people into believing it. They always fall back into the argument that an opposing view is invalid simply because it is different. Pete, you have shown your ignorance by calling all of us lawyers simply because we have taken the time to obtain an educated view. I can provide scientific papers from a variety of reputable sources all day and you would simply ignore the information that was presented. A lot of anti-GMO people are also vegan and have no problem using synthetic chemicals in the form of a multivitamin, yet the way it was worded in this article, they all are taking out their pitchforks. Also a note to the assholes that are pretending that farmers are being duped by GMO seeds. Farmers are intelligent people, they are business people. They weigh the cost of being unable to reuse their seeds against the cost of losing most of their crop due to pests. Americans should be required to spend some time in that kind of setting, or take a class so that the general populace quits making our country look ignorant. For people that do not live in America, that ignorance can be misinterpreted as stupidity.

Another thing, Pepsico /ADM chemists, calm down. This piece nowhere states or implies Naked “juice” products contain formaldehyde. He correctly states that an ingredient is synthesized from formaldehyde. It is indeed useful to determine whether a vitamin is synthesized or naturally occurring.

I’d like to thank the PR representatives and/or lawyers working for Pepsi and/or ADM for sharing their views with the readers via various pseudonymous Internet guises. Way to flack! (Especially to the “hot farmer’s daughter” who tells us genetic tampering is wonderful.)

This sucks, but the trend that bothers me more is one that plays out in the comments – the misconception that any fruit juice is a healthy snack for children. Even if it were produced with all natural ingredients, fruit juice is extremely high in sugar. Mass produced fruit juice almost always has higher concentrations of sugar than actual fruit. Which is fine in moderation, but should never be treated as a healthy way to supplement one’s diet. Just because something is natural and organic doesn’t mean it has what your body needs. Associating these catch words with healthfulness is a marketing scheme in itself, and one we should all be extremely wary of.

Omg!!! I have food allergies & irritable bowel syndrome & have been using this product to help supplement my diet. Wow….I never would have thought! I have noticed some stomach upset while drinking bluemachine recently. I would like on board with this suit..this is not right..I already have enough going on.

Well that sucks!!! I thought i was actually giving my daughter and family something healthy, how can we be notified about when and how to sign up!! I am not one to be putting my self out there, but i would buy these for my daughter!!

This is crazy, I had no idea. I’m 6 months pregnant and have been drinking this these past 6 months thinking I was just drinking fruit!! I thought I was helping my baby get nutrients, but I was feeding him formaldehyde! 🙁

“I dislike articles like this, they’re biased and intentionally misleading, using misinformation to try to further their own agenda. They say Naked contains a “chemical” called pantothenate, and that pantothenate is derived from formaldehyde. They then go on to describe why formaldehyde is bad for you, which is obvious. So they want you to believe there is formaldehyde in Naked, which is ridiculous. Naked does contain calcium pantothenate, which is also known as vitamin B5, a naturally occurring nutrient that is pretty vital for proper function of the human body. If it is derived from food or formaldehyde is irrelevant. Compounds don’t retain the properties of their chemical precursors. This article is nothing more than a well disguised advertisement. Its trying to inspire fear of something you shouldn’t be afraid of, and anger towards a company so that a different company can get a portion (a rather large portion) of the settlement money. Don’t instantly believe everything you read on the internet kids.” – Armando

From a certified chemist and student in medicine, Armando is absolutely correct. The general public needs to be educated in this subject. Two chemicals, if they have the same structure and formula, are exactly the same regardless of their previous derivatives. In a very simple example, salt from the ocean (lets just talk about NaCl) and salt I make in the lab derived from 2 deadly compounds (Sodium and Chlorine) have the EXACT same properties. Now if you could prove that residual formaldehyde was present in the Naked Juice, then that would be an issue. I don’t think that is the case though because that is a simple test and it would have been reported.

I dislike articles like this, they’re biased and intentionally misleading, using misinformation to try to further their own agenda. They say Naked contains a “chemical” called pantothenate, and that pantothenate is derived from formaldehyde. They then go on to describe why formaldehyde is bad for you, which is obvious. So they want you to believe there is formaldehyde in Naked, which is ridiculous. Naked does contain calcium pantothenate, which is also known as vitamin B5, a naturally occurring nutrient that is pretty vital for proper function of the human body. If it is derived from food or formaldehyde is irrelevant. Compounds don’t retain the properties of their chemical precursors. This article is nothing more than a well disguised advertisement. Its trying to inspire fear of something you shouldn’t be afraid of, and anger towards a company so that a different company can get a portion (a rather large portion) of the settlement money. Don’t instantly believe everything you read on the internet kids..

As someone else pointed out “Pantothenic acid, also called pantothenate or vitamin B5 Vitamin B5 just doesn’t have the same toe curling effect as “Formaldehyde derivative” Maybe next time someone gets arrested for methamphetamine, they should tell their lawyer to claim it is simply a “pseudoephedrine derivative” and he is simply trying to clear a cold?”

This is the number 1 reason why products today cost so much money. We have become a nation of idiots who sue over nothing!!! We are a litigious society who sue over labeling. Please Please Please stop the madness. Did anyone get hurt over the label?? I doubt it!!! We should stop and look at what we are doing. It is no wonder companies go bankrupt or move them to foreign countries.

How about people just stop believing the hype and take the extra 2 seconds it takes to read the actual ingredients of what they are putting in their bodies? Just because something says “natural” or “healthy” or it comes in a green package or you saw some skinny Joe drinking one, does not mean it’s good for you! Don’t consumers carry at least a little responsibility to not be morons?

it’s called a settlement with a non-disclosure agreement. stop acting like it’s some conspiracy. this happens in the vast majority of settlements nowadays.

y’all granola fools just pissed because you were fooled into thinking something was healthy because it comes in a square bottle. a simple calculation of the nutrition facts & ingredients should have told you what was up a long time ago. lord knows it told me 10 years ago. y’all are probably the same suckers who buy fiji water, too.

feel free to spread all the information about settlement claims you want on your blog, but painting the plaintiff reps as the villains here is just naive. it’s called the legal system. if you want to fix it, learn how it works first.

Thanks for the info. Just for the record, settlements usually involve a confidentiality agreement between the parties; its a standard procedure. So, it’s not that the plaintiff’s lawyers don’t want to talk to the press, they just probably can’t.

I ONCE WORKED AT A SITE THAT USED PURE FORMALDEHYDE IN THE PROCESS TO MAKE ANOTHER END PRODUCT. TRUCKS HAD TO BE AT LEAST 55 DEGREES CENTIGRAGE BEFORE UNLOADING. EXPOSURE LIMITS ARE VERY LOW, PARTS PER MILLION. IF I GOT A WHIFF OF THIS MATERIAL WHILE UNLOADING EXPOSURE THRESHOLD HAD BEEN CROSSED. FORMALDEHYDE IS BAD IN ITS PURE FORM. BUT IT IS USED IN MANY CONSUMER PRODUCTS.

Formaldehyde, CH2O, is a very simple organic molecule, containing a single carbon w/ two attached hydrogens and a double-bonded oxygen. Such a simple molecule is very useful in organic synthesis.

Synthesized products are not necessarily dangerous, and “natural” or “organic” products are not necessarily safe (by far, most organic substances are toxic; you’d learn this if you ever took a single organic chemistry class, and therefor, have credentials, but you didn’t and you don’t). On the contrary, organic farmers must use some of the most dangerous, toxic fertilizers and pesticides available because that’s what’s “organic.” Many of our synthetic organic products are the safest substances that have ever existed.

This is why everyone should really think seriously about growing your own hierloom gmo free gardens and investing in a juicer. You literally cannot trust any of these companies anymore to provide safe, sound nutrition without the use of chemicals. To think you can pay upwards of 4.00 for a small serving of juice that you trusted to be organic, is a slap in the face, really. Getting back to basics is getting back to healthy living in this day and age.

The fact that people are so outraged about these ingredients is arbitrary. Even if Naked rids the label of “All natural” and get rid of the synthetic ingredients…guess what, it’s still going to be a product of GMOs. I would bet any amount of money that the fruits and veggies in these drinks is genetically modified in some way. This law suit is absurd. Nothing is “all natural” these days.

I can’t believe what levels a company would go to make money off of something that’s supposed to be “all natural”. What is someone was allergic to something that was in this juice and they wouldn’t have known because of the inaccurate labeling. I used to drink this juice that I over paid for. I can’t believe that I ever bought their juice.

Is it me or is there something really suspicious about these comments?

Sure the first third or so were submitted over two months, gradually tapering off. Then, 4 months later, we get a 2 day blitz of comments bashing this article.

Care to wager that these recent posts come from one or more folks hired by PepsiCo? It’s a pretty common practice, after all. Written by Paranoid Much on January 16, 2014 @ 8:25 pm ————————————————————————————— Nope. Not hired by PepsiCo. Have no affiliation with them at all. Turns out that this has been posted on Facebook and some of us who are not blind followers of someone without any real scientific qualifications who hosts a blog have taken the time to share some factual information to educate the masses. Acting on misinformation can be potentially as dangerous as ignoring factual information. I personally hate the purposeful embellishment of facts to promote an agenda. In the case of what’s posted on this article, everything the guy says is now suspect.

Mayo clinic actually has a lot of great information about labeling and understanding what labels mean. They also have evidence there on particular drugs and ingredients – for example they review the medical literature on artificial sweeteners. A lot of the time they admit the jury is still out, and there is only partial evidence in certain directions – but that’s what’s so great about their resources. They don’t have any motives outside of informing people.

Food democracy now seems like a politically motivated group, and I think it’s better if the money goes to groups with less of a political agenda than them. I imagine you agree with their agenda, and that’s why you want them to get the money – but you should realize that the website is very biased and lacks impartial information like the Mayo clinic does.

The distribution of funds as current seems better for consumers and your money grab cheapens the rest of your message – which I mostly agree with.

To be at a dead horse: Naked is being sued for mislabeling. The drink itself is not toxic even though it was made from formaldehyde. Its like water table salt (NaCl for u nerds 😉 ). Sodium ( Na) is extremely reactive and Chlorine is very dangerous by itself. But when combined, u get tasty lil crystals that’s good on food.

Thank you to those who double check their facts and look at the article in detail.

Just a point to make here. Produced from formaldehyde and containing formaldehyde are two entirely different things. In this case, calcium pantothenate, also known as vitamin B5, is synthesized using formaldehyde. B5 is naturally occurring in our food and is produced in our digestive tract by bacteria as well. It’s water soluble, so it’s very unlikely one will experience toxic levels of it in their bodies, even with supplements. In fact, so low is the risk that there is no Tolerable Upper Level Intake established for this particular vitamin. The worst thing a person is likely to experience with a massive consumption of supplements would be minor intestinal distress and a little diarrhea.

I’m not saying that false labeling isn’t a problem. It is. If it’s labeled as natural, it should be natural. Period. However, this article is misleading. It contains a serious misrepresentation of a chemical in the product as a means of creating unnecessary alarm or hysteria over it. There is, in fact, no formaldehyde in this product, so it was entirely unnecessary to mention that at all. It would seem to me that there’s enough other evidence of this product’s false labeling to be concerned about that it’s not necessary to embellish by putting in words to scare people. What do you think they’re selling? Embalming fluid? Do a little more research on the actual chemicals before citing them as though the product’s manufacturers are trying to preserve a cadaver with them. SMH.

Local Legal Aid offices are good places to get unclaimed money. They do more good in the name of justice than just about any other organization, other than District Attorneys and Public Defenders. I’d just let the settlement go its course, and not petition to change the division.

Ok ok the false advertising is bad…. but not as bad as fear mongering without using basic damn chemistry. The next time I read that a company uses something derived from a “harmful” chemical I am going to punch a baby in the face. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING HOLY TAKE A CHEMISTRY COURSE. WATER IS ONE MOLECULE FROM DEADLY OMG STOP DRINKING WATER ZOMG ZOMG ZOMG. ALSO OXYGEN(O2) LACKING ONE CHEMICAL BOND WOULD KILL US AS WELL…. SOOOO according to this articles logic we must stop breathing oxygen and drinking water.

You’ve got to appreciate the author of this article demonstrating his complete lack of knowledge right at the top of this comment thread: “I have no clue why a formaldehyde related ingredient needs to be in a juice. None.” An unbelievable amount of apathy, since with about 5 minutes of research he’d have discovered that that ingredient is pantothenic acid, or vitamin B5, and that “small quantities of pantothenic acid are found in nearly every food, with high amounts in whole-grain cereals, legumes, eggs, meat, royal jelly, avocado, and yogurt.”

Great article….had no idea this was going on. However, you had me until you asked to sign a petition to divert the funds to YOUR preferred group. Read about the work that the Mayo has done. To say one group is more deserving that them or any other is just plain wrong and shows that you have as much of an agenda as Pepsi does.

Lets not forget the mainstream medias chemistry background. There’s hydrogen atoms in water? But there’s hydrogen atoms on formaldehyde too! Water is KILLING YOU, we’ll tell you how after this commercial break. Just saying…

“Derived from Formaldehyde” does not mean “is Formaldehyde.” To describe all of the characteristics of formaldehyde is pointless as suggesting that you should list all of the ill effects of drinking stagnant lake water since drinking water can be derived from that water after going through a series of treatments. It is precisely the treatment process that creates the derivative from formaldehyde that makes the chemical no longer have the same properties as formaldehyde.

This article is hilarious. All of the additives that aren’t natural are harmless. The “formaldehyde” in it is vitamin b5. Just because it’s derived from it doesn’t mean it contains ANY of the properties. Did you know that trees produce a while while they photosynthesize sugars? It’s a substance that is derived from CO2, which will kill you if you breath in too much of it. We should therefore cut down all the trees. Wait, I forgot that the chemical I mentioned is oxygen…

And the thing about genetically modified organisms, they are destroying the environment and farming business. Farmers can’t reuse the seeds from genetically modified crops because it would be copyright infringement. If it were otherwise, farmers could make more profit by using seeds from their harvest instead of having to buy new seeds. Also, when there is only limited genetic variation in an entire field, the crops become more vulnerable to pests and disease, because pests and diseases evolve to counter this abundant crop’s genetics. This vulnerability increases the need for industrial fertilizers, etc. Again, the foods we eat do not only affect our bodies, but also our environment.

It’s amazing how people are all like “organic is not any better for people than otherwise”. Organics are better for the environment, not for people. You misunderstand the whole point of organic eating. Also, organic animal by-products are made from animals who aren’t being mistreated. Our food choices aren’t always necessarily about how the food we are eating is affecting our bodies, gain some perspective.

Ok now I’m concerned… I was drinking quite a few of these and I always share my drinks with my little weiner dog. I always pour it in his bowl and give him some of my food as well maybe that’s not normal but my dog is like my baby so I try to keep him happy n now I’m concerned because he has been very sick now that I tgink about it it happened around the time I was drinking these. He can’t hold his cladder he throws up n had diarreah all the time. He jus lays around. I can’t even let hin sleep with me nemore becuz he gets so sick n has problems breathing as well. Does neone have any idea how I can help him or what I can do if this is the cause? Please email me if so crystalluvjaw@gmail.com

that’s why the major corporations are pushing so hard for the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) to pass, and keeping it extremely hush, hush. They act would/could change company’s labeling and regulations. They’ll basically be able to sell anything without the consumer’s knowledge. I’m sure Asia will jump on it as well, with the radiation scares over there, this way they don’t have to label food correctly, and keep sales up. It’s all about money/sales for these corporation, they could give a damn what humans are ingesting for the mighty dollar, and they’ll buy off anyone in their way. it’s so disturbing.

Thank you for the article and information. I had not heard of it on CNBC which usually covers corporate news. But given the agreement, I’m not surprised.

As others have noted, the term “natural” is not meant to be FCC-regulated or documented as it’s not something measurable. “Certified Organic”, however, is.

I’ve never heard of Food Democracy Now! (they’re not covered by Charity Watch) but I’d like to suggest, either instead of or in addition to, Food and Water Watch (http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/) which is rated “A”, and truth-in-labelling is definitely in their wheelhouse.

Thanks again and best of success. As they used to say on NYPD BLUE, “Be careful out there!”

Wow. Sad to here that about Naked Juices. I’ll still drink them though. They’re delicious and not a bad company. As for the article, I’m sorry it had to get whiney-preachy where none was needed. That proposition: Not necessary. Coincidently, it never seems to be winning its battle. It’s more about creating a mass-marketed stamp to say “unhealthy” more than it is about spreading any truth. Because we obviously already know the truth if people are bitching about it constantly. Then, somehow, I always find myself stumbling across it. How about we just let people buy into what they feel they need? It’s kind of their choice, not anyone else’s. If they don’t do their research, then it’s on them. Natural additives? How about Natural Selection. There are way bigger fish to fry than this.

Many companies that settle a lawsuit often ask for a confidentiality clause regarding the terms of the settlement. What is unusual about this settlement is that the lawsuit was filed based on claims of false and misleading advertisement by Naked Juice. It seems logical that the settlement should permit corrective messages about Naked Juice’s product through the consumer lawyers that brought the lawsuit and other non-profit organizations so that the public would know the truth. Filing a class action consumer case about false and misleading advertising only to gag the parties from talking about it seems to defeat the purpose. The good thing that comes out of this case is articles like this providing public awareness about Naked Juice.

Well this is special. Claims filed by mail must be postmarked by Dec. 17, 2013! You can get $75 with proof of purchase … but who keeps old grocery receipts laying around? Without one, your claim is worth $45.http://www.nakedjuiceclass.com/

It could be the case that both sides of this issue agreed that the existing journalist culture is a bunch of fear mongering truth twisting money grubbing attention whores and working with the media would confuse the truth, distort the issue and be harmful to the reputations of both sides of the case. I mean, that is a hard truth to stomach but I can’t remember the last time i read an article where one side of an issue was not harshly criticized and the other either blindly praised or unjustifiably questioned for their judgment. The existing American journalist culture does not deserve access to issues like this, or any real issues for that matter.

Expect lies in advertising. If you buy something in a bottle, bag, can, wrapper, container, if it passes through any processing, there is liable to be some garbage in it. Why are people surprised that corporations lie? Why are people surprised to find processed food has potentially harmfully additives “to maintain color and freshness.” This is the norm. Don’t eat their garbage. Make your own Naked shakes.

I strongly believe that even though an “all natural product” is labelled that way… I think it must have some kind of quemicals to protect the product from getting bad on the supermarkets shelfs ! we must be realistic and aware of these facts ! it must have PROTECTION ! I am also a consumer ! but I am trying to be fair with the right thing to do. some organizations and individuals just use small excuses to take to court big companies and exploit the situation and asking for “compensation money” NOT FAIR !!!!!

Not surprising that the lawyers didn’t make such a good deal – for the most part, tort (plaintiff) attorneys are far more concerned with negotiating a quick fee than with promoting the public interest.

This scare over genetically modified food is ridiculous and is perpetuated by ignorant people who don’t understand biology. People seem to have this notion that genetically modified organisms are all radioactive, toxic, have a hand growing out of somewhere it isn’t supposed to, etc. The truth is, you are genetically modified…half of your father’s genes were rearranged (mutated/modified/whatever you want to call it) as well as half of your mother’s to come together and make you. Blonde hair, freckles, the ability to taste certain chemicals that others can’t, your height, your eye color, are all results of genetic modification (though in your case, probably rather through natural birth rather than a genetic engineer prompting a change). If there genetic modification didn’t exist, every cow, pumpkin, flower, etc. would be identical clones of eachother (and really they wouldn’t exist at all if the earliest bacteria never genetically modified and evolved into other organisms). You know those plump strawberries you eat in a grocery store…those were selectively bread years ago from “freak” mutations for their large size. “Normal” strawberries are about the size of a quarter. Breeds of dogs and cats are genetically modified organisms. People have selectively chosen the genetic traits they wanted to keep and only bread the animals with those traits. A genetically modified food is no more dangerous than any other food because when it comes down to the basics, every living being is the result of genetic modification whether in a lab or naturally occurring mutation in nature.

After the lawyers take their huge chunk of money out of a 9 million dollar settlement there will be about 4 million dollars left. There are how many people in America that possibly consumed this beverage? The way you punish a company this big for wrong doing is to hit them in the wallet. This did nothing. Nine million dollars is change in the bottom of their wallet. I for one don’t even want a penny of this settlement. I would rather see the money go to promoting non-GMO foods and to turn Naked Juice into a healthy all natural drink. It can be done… why don’t the courts make that their decision. Change the drink to meet standards required for All-Natural or don’t make it.

It’s ironic how you get upset by this but the Fact that it is also in vaccines doesn’t seem to be a problem. At least when ingested, it mostly gets filtered out of the body. Not the case with vaccines.

And I am sure this lawyers representing the class action plaintiff are so outraged over the fact that they cannot speak out freely about this case, that they refused the settlement moneys and fought hard for their principles.

Ummm, Max, is it? Are you aware that calcium pantothenate is vitamin B5 and NOT formaldehyde? Or, are you completely incapable of doing scientific research? Not to mention formaldehyde is naturally occurring in fruits, vegetables and plants and is broken down in our systems just fine. Look we are still alive!!! Also, formaldehyde is a product of some of the foods we eat, and yes even the organics that you eat as well. So, do people a favor and stop misinforming the public with your rubbish. Thank you!

I think the consumer victory controls here. Creating false hope that an infinite number of consumers can “participate” in the lawsuit is misguided. Once a class has been certified by a court, no subsequent persons can join in. Moreover, Naked is a subsidiary of a publicly-traded company, why is there any shock value in the fact that the details and terms of the settlement need prior approval before being discussed with the press?

I’m happy the lawsuit settled. If it didn’t, this article would not have been written. Shame on Naked for lying.

I have bought these products like forever my favorite are the Mango and the Green Machine one! As for the misleading the general public. I believe they may have but, why sue them for the money? They already have been taken to the cleaners. Is this the message we want to send to everyone. Sue everyone? I will continue to buy their products and I am aware that not only do they may use the false labels but, so do many other companies. The trick is MODERATION. Make sure all the food you put inside of you is clean, and what you know is the best with what information you have at hand. I believe they have learned their lesson. So, let the settlement go to a charity or better education the consumers, the companies about the so called false labels, and so on. Go on with your life. I’ts to short to hold a grudge. Thanks for sharing..

The chemical that is derived from formaldehyde is a salt form of the vitamin B5. Guess what? If you are taking a multivitamin that includes B5 then you are ingesting it. This is not a harmful chemical regardless of where it comes from. Please stop diluting the informational pool with scary misinformation.

I am confused how your site got this information if the lawsuit agreed to “hide” the details. It is valuable information to add to this horrific act by Pepsi as it verifies the information being written on this site. With all the false information being written by competitors and people who are just bored (I have seen some crazy stuff written that was 100% false that millions believed). Because of all the false information on the web, I personally do not post anything without siting my references and sources. 🙂 <3

Organic food is already being labeled by the USDA. Why is there an obsession with labeling GMOs? It would cost our country billions of dollars and adversely increase food prices. The large fraction of our nation that struggles with obesity are also among the poorest. Produce and raw food products are already the most expensive on the shelves. Not to mention the fact the Stanford and numerous other universities along with the US Dept. of Agriculture have studies proving that there is no conceivable health advantage to eating non-GMO other than spending 50% more of your hard earned money on them. I’m a farmers daughter, without the use of technology on my family’s 5 generation farm, with severe drought, 90 mph wind, insect/diesease pressure, we wouldn’t be able to produce a product to keep in business. Genetics have saved agriculture all over the world. Connecting with American farmers should be the first step, not bashing their practices without learning how food production actually occurs.

Thank you for sharing. I have been munching on Nakd bars for a very long time as advised by my gym instructor. I have googled and discovered that they are made by the same company Naked Foods. How do I file for the class action

I am very upset to hear about the ingredients in Naked Juice. I give Green Machine to my grandson, thinking I was giving him something healthy to drink. To read this information is disgusting. False advertisement is all over the container…such as “Non GMO” What can I do as a consumer to stop this from continuing? Makes me sick to think that my little dramdsom has been drinking this CRAP! I am very angry!

Being derived from Formaldehyde doesn’t mean anything at all. It would be different if Formaldehyde was one of the metabolites but if it was an additive part of the synthesis process it no longer exists in that form and most likely will not have the potential to return to its aldehyde form. It’s honestly like saying that my bread was derived from eggs and eggs have salmonella so don’t eat the bread.

This is absolutely untrue as fructoolligosaccharides DO exist in nature. Whether this statement came from the court action or from the writer of the post/website, the source is misinformed.

Please do your homework and you will find natural sources of this indigestible sweetener. The problem with it is that almost all sources of this do not make for suitable ingredients in beverages so they are synthetically reproduced without the offputting tastes of their host plants/roots.

Although I have no doubt Naked used a synthetically produced fructoolligosaccharide, they do in fact exist in nature and to claim otherwise is continuing to perpetuate the misinformation that started with Naked’s labelling of All Natural.

Sodium panthothenate, which is a salt version of vitamin B5, is in the juice. Apparently this particular version of vitamin B5 was derived synthetically, and at some point, formaldehyde was used in one of the synthetic steps. That does not in any way mean that there is any formaldehyde in the product.

Plastic is made from crude oil. But there is no crude oil in your plastic bags. It’s been turned into plastic. Same with the formaldehyde.

excellent article, Max. Thanks for getting the facts out there. I had no idea non-profits are awarded unclaimed monies. In this case Food Democracy Now! is the perfect non-profit to receive unclaimed funds. The fight for truth in labeling must continue.

Formaldehyde is a colorless, flammable, strong-smelling chemical that is used in building materials and to produce many household products. Formaldehyde sources in the home include pressed-wood products, cigarette smoke, and fuel-burning appliances. When exposed to formaldehyde, some individuals may experience various short-term effects. Formaldehyde has been classified as a known human carcinogen (cancer-causing substance) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Research studies of workers exposed to formaldehyde have suggested an association between formaldehyde exposure and several cancers, including nasopharyngeal cancer and leukemia.

Being a bit of a fear monger, aren’t you? Formaldehyde is an extremely common reagent in organic synthesis. (Note that when I say organic, I mean carbon containing, not non-pesticide using.) Do you know how many things can be derived from an aldehyde like that? It’s a single carbon aldehyde so if you want to do any single carbon additions it’s incredibly useful. Fact of the matter is, it doesn’t matter what something is made FROM it matters what it’s in at the end. Calcium pantothenate is just a calcium salt of vitamin B. In any situation where you’re creating a molecule for human consumption, there are standards that your product needs to be held to, including purity. Unless you’re also going to stop taking multivitamins or iron or taking Advil or Tylenol or Aspirin when you have a headache JUST because precursors in its synthesis can be toxic, then why bother? Organic solvents are nasty and I guarantee most of your food or things your food has been treated with have touched hexanes, furans, DMSO, or chloroform. That doesn’t mean that there is any left in your food. Now, if your complain was solely that their labeling of their product as “All Natural” was false, that’s fine. Anything with added vitamins can’t really be claimed to be that because extraction of naturally synthesized vitamins isn’t economically feasible for any company. (It’s much cheaper to just synthesize them. Doesn’t mean they’re any different than what’s in a naturally occurring fruit.) So unless you actually know what you’re talking about, why would you even include the thing about formaldehyde. Most of the organic chemicals in your body could be synthesized from formaldyde.